News

SYDNEY: Tony Abbott has been elected Australia’s 27^th Prime Minister as a result of last Saturday’s Federal Elections, with his Liberal/National Coalition (COA) winning 89 seats to the Australia Labor Party’s (ALP) 56 seats, with the rest split between minor parties and Independents.

Prior to the election, the Armenian National Committee of Australia (ANC Australia) met with candidates in seats, which are heavily populated by Armenian-Australians and produced a report card reviewing the key candidates. All key candidates it supported in New South Wales won their respective seats.

A statement from the community's peak public affairs body read:

"ANC Australia is pleased to report the following key results for Armenian-Australians:

• The Member for North Sydney, Joe Hockey (COA), of Armenian origin, retained his seat by securing 60.82% of the vote;
• The Member for McMahon and former Federal Treasurer, Chris Bowen (ALP), retained his seat which covers Armenian-populated areas in Western Sydney;
• The Member for Greenway, Michelle Rowland (ALP), a strong advocated for Armenian Genocide recognition, retained her seat;
• The Member for Bradfield, Paul Fletcher (COA), the first Federal Member to speak for the Armenians of Nagorno Karabakh, was returned to represent his electorate for a third term;
• The Member for Bennelong, John Alexander (COA), retained his seat in the most heavily populated Armenian electorate in Australia;
• The Member for Warringah, Tony Abbott (COA), secured his seat, as well as being elected Prime Minister of Australia."

Other key supporters of the Armenian-Australian community, including Malcolm Turnbull (COA), Michael Danby (ALP), Joel Fitzgibbon (ALP), Craig Kelly (COA), Scott Morrison (LIB) and Nick Xenophon (IND), were all successful in their reelection campaigns.

ANC Australia’s Executive Director Vache Kahramanian remarked: “We congratulate all Members of Parliament on their election or reelection to public office. We look forward to working with them on advancing all issues of importance to the Armenian-Australian community.”